


This reminds me of a puzzle…

by gaiarcane



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternative Lifestyles, F/M, Investigations, Multi, Mystery, Original Character(s), Other, Riddles, Set in the professor layton universe, alternative universe, minor professor layton background (really minor)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2020-06-26 17:48:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19773325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaiarcane/pseuds/gaiarcane
Summary: When rumors spread out about a hidden sanctuary in Alaska where an unknown species of humanoids apparently lives, archaeologist and teacher at Gressenheller University Hanji Zoe is dying to go. Their assistant, Moblit Berner, is however unable to answer the call. Instead, they get a brand new partner: Levi Ackerman from Scotland Yard, currently suspended because of frequent anger bouts. Will the pair manage to solve the mystery that lies in the sanctuary?





	1. A glacial gift

Hanji Zoe was no stranger to riddles.

Their entire childhood, they had solved riddles, no matter the difficulty. The only issue with this as they grew up was that with time, they found less and less people to challenge them. Life began to turn dull, and Hanji was convinced that they had solved everything that could be solved.

Until they met her.

Katrielle Layton, daughter of the internationally renowned Professor Hershel Layton, had walked into their maths classroom on a sunny day of October, a month after highschool started. And since that day, Hanji had discovered that the world was actually full of mysteries waiting to be discovered.

The two of them quickly became friends. Hanji liked Katrielle because she was a quick thinker and deduced everything so naturally. Katrielle liked Hanji because they were eager to find out how the world worked.

For Hanji’s parents, it was no surprise when they announced to them that they wanted to become an archaeologist.

Because Katrielle’s father, Hershel Layton, taught archaeology.

The man who had discovered the mysteries behind the ruins of Akbadain, the city of Ambrosia, Labyrinthia, St. Mystere, Mistallery and Folsense, was himself, a mystery. To his daughter, at least.

Despite the absence of the man in Katrielle’s life, the young girl had always been following her father’s adventures, collecting whatever articles she could find in the newspapers.

Hanji, of course, helped.

And with time, they became more and more interested in what the professor did. “The truth is always stranger than fiction.” Katrielle always repeated, and she was right. Whenever the professor went away for a couple of weeks, the case he investigated on was labelled as strange: a masked man who performed supernatural tricks, a spectre that destroyed the city at night, a thousand-year-old mummy who was still alive…

It all sounded metaphysical, except that it was not.

Indeed, the professor’s intervention on the cases helped the entire world understand what was going on. The supernatural tricks turned out to be a lost acquaintance of the professor attempting to have his revenge, the spectre was a large manatee trying to protect its city, and the mummy was actually a golem.

Wherever the professor went, no riddle was left unsolved.

And that was exactly who Hanji aspired to be.

Thus, when they graduated from Gressenheller University, the dean Delmona told Hanji they should teach here, too. Not to replace the professor, but to help. Hanji was 25 at the time, the professor was regularly absent, so of course, they could not refuse.

It had been a few years since Hanji became a teacher, and they absolutely _loved_ their job.

They loved it even more since it granted them access to brand new mysteries to discover, as well.

Indeed, though they had never met the professor, Hanji had communicated with them on multiple occasions. Professor Layton, upon hearing of Hanji’s success with their students while he was abroad, had tasked the young professor with a few mysteries who were definitely odd, but not enough for him to go and check.

And of course, Hanji complied willingly.

They liked the thrill of watching everything unfold in front of their eyes, and particularly appreciated the moment when fiction became reality. When something unrealistic could be explained with science. When fear of the unknown became absolute certainty.

Hanji sighed, their cheek against their desk. Watching the clock, they waited and waited and waited for what felt like an eternity.

But no phone call came.

It had been over a month since the Professor had last called them, and Hanji was growing _bored_. Teaching was nice, but Hanji wanted a break, from time to time. Scotland Yard had grown annoyed of their regular visits too.

At least, that’s what Hanji had guessed because of Inspector Chelmey’s grunt everytime he saw them walking towards his office.

When their phone finally rang, Hanji almost _lunged_ at it. Calming themselves down before they picked up, they sat down in their couch, before clicking on the button.

“Hanji Zoe here, how can I help you?” They automatically said, though it was useless in this situation. The professor knew who they were, but still, Hanji found it professional to present themselves whenever he called. That way, they seemed _less desperate_.

The issue was that it was not the professor calling.

“I’m Erwin Smith, a colleague of the professor.” The man on the other end of the phone stated. “Can we meet? Scotland Yard, 2nd flood, the door on your left. Be there as soon as possible.”

And before Hanji could say anything else, Erwin Smith had hung up on them.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

Reluctantly, Hanji filled their bag with all sorts of useful items, like a biology book, tarot cards, and a pocket knife.

These items had proven themselves to be useful in the past. _Don’t ask why._

Walking out of the building, Hanji waited for the bus to Scotland Yard. There, they noticed a familiar figure sitting on the bench near them. The dean Delmona seemed to be waiting as well.

He was the head of the university and had been there since the professor was a student. He was a kind man loved by all the students, despite his forgetfulness.

“Are you going down town?” He asked before they could say hello to him.

“I’ve been summoned, actually.” Hanji replied with a sigh. “By a certain Erwin Smith. Do you happen to know him, perhaps?”

Delmona took his chin in his hand and thought about it. Hanji had a feeling he did not know him.

“I’m afraid I don’t.” He informed them. _Just as they thought._

“Ah, don’t worry.” Hanji reassured him. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“My granddaughter.” Delmona stated, to which Hanji smiled. _They knew where this was going_. “By the way, would you mind helping me with a riddle? She keeps creating new ones, and I can’t keep up. I usually ask Hershel to help, but as you know...”

“Of course!” Hanji exclaimed, always ready to take on a challenge. “What’s the riddle?”

“In a jar, there is a single germ. After one minute, the germ splits into two germs. One minute after that, the two germs split again, forming a total of four germs. At this rate, a single germ can multiply to fill the whole jar in exactly one hour.” Delmona explained. “Knowing this, how long in minutes would it take to fill the jar if you had started with two germs?”

Hanji smirked. The answer was obvious.

“59 minutes.” Hanji answered. “It takes a minute for a germ to split into to. Therefore, if you start with two germs instead of one, you only save one minute.”

Delmona considered the answer, and finally understood the riddle.

“Ah, yes, of course.” He muttered to himself. “Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t mention it.”

With a wink, Hanji climbed on the bus as soon as it arrived. Spotting a seat right next to the door, they sat there and were about to take out their phone to check their mails when they noticed the persisting gaze on their right.

The person they were sitting next to was a young man in his twenties, with blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. Hanji knew him, they were sure of that. He rarely participated in their class, but when he did, he provided incredibly smart remarks in an unsure way, as if he were uncertain about his own intelligence. Hanji remembered boosting him, from time to time.

His name, however, was a mystery to Hanji.

 _Might as well try_ , Hanji thought.

“Ah, Arlelt, right?” Hanji said, and the young man’s eyes opened wider.

“Armin Arlelt, yes.” He added. “I’m surprised you remembered.”

Hanji was surprised too. They were terribly bad with people’s names. Remembering species and fossil names, however, was a special talent of theirs.

“Of course I did.” Hanji lied, and Armin believed them. “Are you skipping class?”

Armin grew red in the face. “N-no! It’s just… that I had class with you and obviously you’re not here…”

_Ah, right. They had forgotten to warn their students. Again._

“Sorry. I saw the dean on my way there but I don’t think he realized I was not coming back right away.” Hanji informed him.

Armin laughed, and Hanji realized the young man was truly like a ray of sunshine, like they had heard his friends claim so often in the hallways of their building. “I suppose he must have bothered you with one of his granddaughter’s riddles.” he guessed.

“That’s exactly what he did!” Hanji replied. “Does he do it to you too?”

“Sometimes, yes. But I only manage to confuse him even more. Though I understand that most of the times, there is only one answer, I can’t help but try to find another way to see the problem.” Armin ranted, and Hanji chuckled.

_When this one graduates, he’ll be a valuable member of the archaeology field._

“How about I give you a puzzle, a simple one.” Hanji suggested. “And the next time we see each other, you can give me the answer.”

“Alright.” Armin accepted. “I’m listening.”

“Let’s say, I received a birthday present from a friend, but it was delivered in a block of ice.” Hanji began. “The card it was delivered with said you can use five 150ml cups of hot water to melt 30g of ice. If the block of ice weighs 2kilograms, how many cups do I need to melt it entirely?”

Armin thought about it for a couple of seconds, and his fingers moved, visibly counting how many cups of hot water he would need.

_No, that’s not the way to do it._

Right when he was about to blurt out a false answer, Hanji spoke. “You’ll tell me the answer when we meet again.”

Armin tilted his head in confusion, and Hanji hopped off the bus as it stopped. They walked towards the Scotland Yard building, pushing the familiar door as they came in.

As usual, it was mostly empty, save for the policeman at the front desk and the cleaning lady chatting with him. Upon hearing them come in, the policeman straightened up, and the cleaning lady walked away.

“Can I help you with something?” He asked, and Hanji approached him.

“I have a meeting.” They stated. “With Erwin Smith. Second floor, the door on the left?”

The policeman eyed them from head to toe, before opening a drawer and taking out a piece of folded paper that he handed to Hanji.

“If you would be kind enough to solve this.” he said, and Hanji eyed the man warily, then the paper. “You understand we cannot let anybody in.”

Hanji smirked. “The professor gave you this, didn’t he?”

The policeman did not say anything, but Hanji _knew_ it was him. They unfolded the paper and read what was written on the paper in a handwriting they did not recognize as the professor’s. _Who could it be? Was it this Erwin Smith’s? Or the front desk policeman?_

 _It was not the front desk policeman._ They had caught a glimpse of a memo near their desk, and the writing was drastically different.

Shrugging it off, the young professor began reading.

In this riddle, the police have received a warning from a legendary safe-cracker about his next crime: “Tonight, I plan to break into the bank and take the treasure from one of the safes numbered 1 to 60. I will steal from the one safe whose number cannot be made by adding together any combination of these: 0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 15, 31. (Using each one no more than once per combination, that is.)" The question is: which safe should the police keep an extra close eye on tonight?

Hanji thought about it for a couple of seconds, and the policeman stared at them.

Before he could even think about how they were _never_ going to find the answer, Hanji spoke.

“The numbers from 1 to 29 and from 31 to 60 can all be made by adding together various combinations of 0, 1, 2, 4, 7. 15, and 31.” Hanji stated matter-of-factly. “But 30 is the only number between 1 and 60 that cannot be made from these numbers.” 

The man lifted an eyebrow, looked at the paper in front of him, _where the answer was written_ , Hanji thought. Then, he crushed it in his hand and tossed it in the bin.

“I wonder where they find people like you.” He admitted, and Hanji smirked. “First floor, second door on your left. He’s waiting for you.”

“I thought it was the second floor?”

“There’s no second floor.” The policeman replied. “Mr Smith is a careful man. Anyone might have listened to your phone conversation.”

Hanji narrowed their eyes. They were dying to ask him _why the hell would anyone want to listen to an archaeology teacher’s boring phone conversations_ , but something told them they were about to find out the answer in Erwin Smith’s office.

After knocking on the door, Hanji let themselves in. The room was a regular office, with a desk near the window, bookcases on the right and a small buffet on the left. There was a man near the buffet, small of stature and visibly too occupied to care about them. Hanji wondered if this was Erwin Smith. After all, the voice on the phone seemed much more imposing than this… midget pouring himself a cup of tea.

“Mr Smith? I’m the person you called me this morning, Han-”

“Imma stop you right there.” The not-Erwin-Smith interrupted them. “He went to take a shit.”

Hanji raised their eyebrows.

_What the hell?_

“I beg your pardon?” They said, certain that what they had heard could not possibly be what this guy just said.

“Didn’t you hear me?” The man asked, clearly annoyed. “He’s not here. Now get moving.”

“Now, that’s no way to talk to a guest, Levi.” A voice said from behind Hanji, and they turned over to finally see the _actual_ Erwin Smith.

Their eyes saw a chest first, because Erwin Smith was so close and so _tall_ that Hanji could not see his face. His voice indeed matched his physical appearance: he was a tall, broad-chested man with blonde hair neatly brushed to the side and jellyfish-blue eyes.

Nothing like that small, annoyed human with grey eyes devoid of any emotion that was currently looking daggers at Erwin Smith.

“Excuse my subordinate’s unfriendliness. We’re currently working on that. I’m Erwin Smith.” He introduced himself as he laid out his hand for Hanji to shake, which they did. “Please, have a seat.”

Hanji sat in the chair in front of the desk, watching as the man who had summoned them here sat as well. The so-called Levi stood against the buffet, though.

Which made Erwin stare at him, and in a silent exchange, Erwin had asked him why he was not sitting.

Levi, who apparently wasted no opportunity to run his mouth, did _not_ answer the silent exchange with _silence_.

“I’m good.” he stated. “Besides, this won’t take too long, will it?”

Upon hearing Levi, Hanji took the opportunity to ask a question. “Why am I here, exactly?”

“You’re in trouble.” Levi replied, and Hanji sighed. _Ugh,_ _does he ever stop_ _talking?_

“Not exactly.” Erwin corrected him. “Let’s just talk about something we have in common, shall we?”

Hanji crossed their arms. “And what exactly do we have in common?”

“Mirstone.” Erwin said, and Hanji tried their best not to let it show, but they were _excited_ about this.

Mirstone was Hanji’s little secret: it was a sanctuary situated in Alaska, where, according to many rumors, a species of humanoids lived, willingly secluded from the rest of the world. There was so little data about the place and its habitants that getting information on them is almost _dangerous_.

But of course, danger never scared Hanji.

“Am I supposed to be familiar with this name?” Hanji lied.

“Denial is futile, four eyes.” Levi commented as he dropped a pile of familiar files on Erwin’s desk. _Where had he been hiding those?_ _Perhaps behind that small waist of his…_ “We’ve searched your files, in your little office.”

Hanji chuckled. “You two are fools if you think the most important data was in my office.”

“I’ve checked your room in Kensington Street, as well.” Levi added, and Hanji smirked. _A_ _s if it was enough to intimidate_ _me_. “And the one you still have at your parents’ place.”

“Does he have the right to do this?” Hanji asked Erwin, but it was Levi who answered.

“I do. Like I said, you’re in trouble.”

Hanji breathed in and out. They had everything under control. After all, they were the smartest in the room, weren’t they? “And I suppose you haven’t found anything, or else, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

“Well, that search history of yours was surely interesting, but it didn’t inform me on how you managed to gather more data than we did in over a year.” Levi declared, and Hanji could guess by the tone of his voice that he was pissed that they were smarter than him.

Hanji took this as an opportunity to piss him off even more.

“You know, people help you when you are nice to them, midget. You should try it, some time.”

As expected, Levi _fumed_. His already clenched fist was clenched even more, and Hanji swore he was about to punch them in the face, before he let his hand fall to his side and desperately looked at Erwin.

“Erwin, can we make this quick?” Levi almost begged. “I’m not sure I can guarantee I will not put us both in a cell before this meeting is over.”

“Oh, kinky.” Hanji commented, and they _knew_ they were done for.

“What a lovely pair you two make.” Erwin stated with a smirk before Levi could storm out at Hanji, who smiled innocently.

“Let’s cut the crap.” Levi announced. “Why are you interested in Mirstone?”

“Well, why wouldn’t I be?” Hanji retorted.

“You’re an archaeologist. There’s nothing interesting for you there.” Levi argued. “Just a group of people living like the Hamish.”

“Everybody seems to forget that I am an anthropologist too.” Hanji sighed. “Besides, do you truly believe that?”

“What?”

“That it’s just a sanctuary where people are living like the Hamish, as you said.” Hanji repeated. Taking one of their own files from the pile Levi had brought, they walked closer to him, showing him the contents of it, which he was probably already familiar with. “You’ve seen my data, and yet you still believe they’re just human beings?”

Levi tsked. “You’ve got more info than me, but you’re still delusional. I’ve heard about the rumors, and you’re an idiot if you believe them.”

Hanji walked even closer to him, trapping him between the buffet and their body. He looked up, meeting the professor’s maniac gaze.

“Want to know what this sanctuary hides?” Hanji asked, though they wouldn’t let him the choice. “I’ll tell you. I’ve called them titans. They look just like us, but they’re far, far different. Want to see?”

Levi furrowed his brows, and before he could ask for Hanji to explain how they were going to show him, they had turned over to talk to Erwin. “I know you have my computer. Can I borrow it for a sec?”

Erwin narrowed his eyes, a malicious glint in his gaze, and opened a drawer, pulling Hanji’s computer out. Quickly, they turned it on, and after a few clicks, an eye scan and a couple of passwords, the professor turned their screen towards Levi and Erwin, and then pressed play.

The screen showed what seemed to be an office, and the two policemen quickly recognized the oval office. Then, a dozen people walked in, and Levi gasped when he recognized the person who sat at the desk.

“Is that-” Levi began.

“The previous American president, yes.” Hanji answered. "This is from 6 years ago." 

Levi and Erwin looked at each other, then at Hanji. “How did you find this?” Erwin asked before Levi could. “This is highly confidential material.”

“I have a friend who’s good with computers.” Hanji declared.

Then, they resumed the video as if nothing had happened. On the screen, another person appeared, whom the two men did not recognize. It was a woman in her early twenties, with wavy auburn hair that fell onto her shoulders and green eyes. At her side, there was a man with long black hair and a file in his arms.

“Who’s that?” Levi asked, pointing at the lady who had just walked inside the office.

Hanji chuckled. “The new leader of the titans. Her name is-”

“Amara… Alpin, right?” The president asked, to which the young lady nodded.

“What do you mean, new leader?” Levi wondered as the president began listing the leader’s requests. “They change leaders every now and then, just like us?”

“It’s a guess, but yes.” Hanji replied. “It has been decades since we’ve heard of Mirstone, but it’s only recently that they’ve come out of their bubble, trying to establish peaceful relationships with the countries surrounding them. I’m pretty sure this person is their new leader.”

Hanji continued watching the video, and pointed at the screen once the conversation between the titans leader and the American president became heated to the point of guns being pointed at the woman.

“Look at what she’s about to do.” Hanji instructed the two men.

And they did what the professor told them to do. Carefully watching the woman on the screen, they flinched when the president’s many bodyguard fired at her, making her dance as bullets crossed her body.

But she did not fall to the ground.

On the contrary, she was still standing, visibly unbothered by the dozens of wounds in all parts of her body.

Then, things got even weirder.

The bullets came out of her wounds on their own.

Both the bodyguards and the two policemen with Hanji gasped in horror.

Hanji smirked. They had had the same reaction, too, when they first watched it.

The woman sighed, taking the bullet from her forehead in her index and thumb, examining it closely.

“Why is it that you humans always shoot at what you cannot explain?” She wondered out loud, and the president stood up from his chair.

“What do you want?” he asked, and panic could be heard in his tone. “Is it money? Safety?”

“I can get those two by myself, thank you very much.” Amara answered as she wiped off the blood from a wound in her arm. “However, I think I made my intentions quite clear when I arrived. I want you to leave Mirstone alone. No more ambassadors trying to convince us to sign peace treaties.”

The president scoffed. “How else are you planning to ask for your independence, then?”

“You know, I have an army of over 30,000 immortal soldiers just like me back home who could absolutely wreck your country, or even your world, if I simply asked them to.” Amara stated matter-of-factly. “I’m not asking for anything. I’m simply warning you that if you try to get in our way, I will unleash hell upon your kind.”

When Levi looked at Hanji to know if this was real, he could not guess it on the professor’s face.

Because they simply had no idea.

The video ended, and the three people in the room stared at the black screen, trying to process what they had just seen.

“This… it can’t be real.” Levi declared. “It has to be CGI or photoshop or something.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t.” Hanji replied. “I checked thoroughly. I didn’t want to believe it either, but...”

“Either way, what do you think about the immortal army she mentioned?” Erwin interrupted them. “Do you think it is real?”

Hanji did not answer.

Because they were busy thinking.

And in a couple of seconds, they had figured everything out.

“The ONU or something as big as the ONU is sending you here to gather information about Mirstone, isn’t it?” Hanji asked, and watched as both of the men suddenly _tensed up_.

It made sense. Erwin Smith was a higher up, a busy man, who could easily get _anyone’s_ number, including Hanji’s, thanks to his position. The organisation Erwin was from probably tasked him to investigate Mirstone because they feared its leader and what she could do.

The few seconds of silence that followed Hanji’s supposition only served to tell the professor that they were right.

“Also, you’re not going to arrest me because you need me, am I right?” Hanji guessed, and once again, they were met with silence. “You can’t kill me and steal my data because you know the most important information you need is in my head, and that no machine in the world can deduce it. Only my brain can.”

Levi sighed. “Great. You’ve deduced everything. Can we skip to the part where you tell us where it is?”

“As if I would do that.” Hanji laughed. “Do you truly think I’m simply going to give the fruit of my hard work and simply walk away? If you’re investigating this, I’m going with you. Period.”

The smallest of the two men pinched the bridge of his nose, and Hanji could guess he had a headache. Erwin seemed to consider the professor’s offer, but before he could voice it out loud, Levi had grabbed a gun from god knows where and was currently pointing it in Hanji’s direction.

Hanji did not even flinch.

“What if I shoot you, then?” Levi threatened them. “You’re not the only annoying genius on this planet. But if you’re dead, you can’t bother me anymore.”

“It’s not armed. And it’s not even yours.” Hanji retorted. “Give that back to Erwin, midget.”

“Call me midget one more time and I’ll prove you I don’t need a weapon to fuck you up.” Levi menaced them, but nothing seemed to scare Hanji, who began mouthing ‘midget’ but was stopped by Erwin.

“Levi.” Erwin said firmly, his hand out for Levi to give him back his gun, which Levi did reluctantly. Once the gun was back in Erwin’s holster, he turned to face Hanji. “How did you know it wasn’t his?”

“Too big for his tiny hands.” Hanji blurted out, and Levi almost stormed out at Hanji, but before he could, they explained their reasoning. “I don’t mean that you’re not strong enough, I mean that you’re unused to it. First, because it’s Erwin’s, and second, because you haven’t held a gun in a while, am I right, Mr short-temper?”

Levi did not answer. _As expected._ So Hanji moved on from the subject. “But to answer your question, Erwin, I think she was bluffing.”

“About what?”

“The army she mentioned.” Hanji explained. “It is highly possible that there are 30,000 immortal people where she lives, but I doubt they’re soldiers. I suppose they’re people, just like us. Not warriors, simply villagers.”

“Do you honestly believe they’re immortal?” Levi asked, and for once, Hanji did not notice the already familiar disdain in his voice. It had been replaced by sheer curiosity.

“Well, how else do you explain bullets magically coming out of a wound?” Hanji replied, with less bite than in their previous exchanges. “There has to be a logical, scientific explanation for what we saw but until then, I’m claiming it’s immortality. Besides, it isn’t that illogical, given how quickly science has evolved these past decades...”

“But to claim that they’re immortal would be a scientific breakthrough, if they turned out to be something akin to immortal beings.” Levi commented. “At least, for this one. We don’t know about the others.”

“I know. That’s why I investigated in the first place.”

Levi nodded, and Erwin saw the beginning of something, but didn’t comment on it. “Why titans, by the way?” he asked instead.

“Are you familiar with Greek mythology?”

“I know the basics.” Erwin stated. “I know that Cronus was a titan and Zeus fooled him into eating a stone.”

Hanji chuckled. “Yes, that’s one part of the story. However, the reason why I called them titans is because they were stronger than the primordial deities, such as Uranus. The one you mentioned, Cronus, actually overthrew his father, the god of the sky.”

“Should we expect a titanomachy, then?” Levi wondered, and Hanji lit up. _Someone actually had_ _done his homework_ _._

“That’s what we’re going to find out, aren’t we?”

“We?” Erwin blurted out, and Hanji tilted their head. They had expected _Levi_ to say that.

“Well, aren’t you going with me?” Hanji supposed. “It’s either you or short-stuff over here.”

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose once again. “Can we _please_ stop with the height jokes?”

“Just one last time.” Hanji begged playfully, and Levi sighed.

Erwin stood up, facing the window of his office, and looked at the streets so astonishingly alive. “You won’t be going alone.” He announced, and Hanji smirked.

“I know. My dear friend Moblit is coming with me. ”

“No, he won't. He's currently inavailable due to a broken leg.” Erwin argued, and Hanji wondered _how the hell_ did Erwin know that Moblit was injured when Hanji themselves had no idea what the extent of the injury was, since he hadn't told them before he left for the hospital. “And Levi won’t be the only one coming with you.”

Hanji sighed. “Let me guess, another police officer with anger management issues?”

“Hey.” Levi fumed, and Hanji chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry.” They apologised without truly meaning it. “So, who’s coming with me?”

Erwin smirked. _The great riddle solve_ _r_ _had not deduced it._ He checked his watch.

“You will know about that in a few moments, if they’re not late.”

_They?_

Erwin was right. Barely a minute after, the door opened, and a familiar face showed up.

“Zero.” the person declared. “That’s how many cups of water you would need to melt your block of ice entirely. You simply need a fireplace.”

“Armin Arlelt, we meet again.” Hanji grinned. “I knew we would.”


	2. Cracking combinations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lots of dialogue, lots of information, lots of words! (all of this means : lots of confusion!!)

Armin chuckled as he approached them, shook Erwin’s hand and bowed his head in front of Levi, probably too afraid of the midget to shake his hand as well.

_Understandable._

“You should have been more cautious, Armin.” Hanji announced. “I was aware we’d meet here, sooner or later.”

“How did you know?”

“The bus.” Hanji replied. “You were already in it when I arrived, at Gressenheller University. If you had planned to go to my class, you would have walked out at the stop I walked in, but you didn’t. You didn’t have your school bag with you either, which reinforced my theory. I may have forgotten about your name, but I did not forget about that iconic yellow bag of yours.”

“You had forgotten my name?”

Everybody stared at Hanji. They felt cornered.

“I had,” they admitted, “but I knew who you were. Names don’t really matter to me. Who you are does.”

“How philosophical.” Levi commented. “Is that what you say to all your students?”

Hanji chuckled at the remark. _Finally, he was showing his good side. About damn time._

“I suppose your angry friend and his silent devoted relative is coming as well?” Hanji guessed, and Armin laughed at the nicknames.

“Eren and Mikasa, yes.”

“See? I know who they are.” Hanji pointed out to Levi, who scoffed. “I suppose they practically begged Erwin to come with you, didn’t they?”

Erwin raised an eyebrow. “Practically? They _literally_ did that.”

“How surprising of them, to want to follow their precious Armin.” Hanji joked. “I wonder what role they are going to play in the discovery of what truly hides behind the titans’ power.”

Erwin left no time for Armin to answer. He laid out a world map on his desk, with red circles and question marks on it.

None of them were even _close_ to where Mirstone was, Hanji noticed.

“What we’re going to do first,” Erwin began, “is put our knowledge in common. Levi, can you brief them?”

Levi, _unsurprisingly_ , sighed. He moved to lean on Erwin’s office, but before he could even speak, the door was almost torn open by a young man Hanji immediately recognized as Eren.

“You’re late.” He grounded them. “Sit down.”

Eren obeyed, and Hanji noticed that the girl with him, Mikasa, reluctantly did the same. Then, Levi spoke.

“What we know about the titans is that they live secluded from the rest of the world, in a place we have not been able to locate yet.” Levi began. “They try to be as discreet as possible, and have possibly been there for a longer time than we might think. But due to their leader’s recent… appearance in the media, speculations about them grow by the day.”

“There are also rumors about their immortality.” Armin hesitatingly added, under Levi’s disapproving stare. “Whether it is true or not, there is a real interest as to why such a rumor would exist.”

“Easy.” Levi replied. “When something unknown appears, it’s even simpler to create false information about it, given how rare the info on them is. If I wanted them to have green skin, I could whisper about it to my colleagues, and soon enough, everybody would believe it.”

“But immortality...” Armin pondered, and Hanji understood his point of view. They were also wondering why, between all the lies that could have been told about the titans, would someone choose to make them immortal.

And Armin hadn’t even seen the footage of Amara Alpin, Hanji thought.

“Everybody talks about it in Gressenheller.” Eren commented. “Archaeologists, anthropologists, even teachers have their word about it. But nobody seems to be certain about anything.”

All eyes turned to Hanji.

“Now your turn, genius.” Levi declared to Hanji, who chuckled at the nickname.

They moved towards the office, assessing the data on it.

_Useless._

Everything on the desk was useless.

“Before I begin, I have to make sure that whatever is said in this room does not leave it.” Hanji announced. “The titans are not simply test subjects. They’re people, like us.”

“So the person who made bullets come out of her flesh was like us, too?” Levi asked, and Hanji outright _fumed_.

“Say Levi, if you were ignored by the leader of the country that is trying to oppress your nation, and if after pointing guns at you for no reason they fired dozens of bullets at you, an unharmed person, would you do everything in your power to avoid getting hurt?”

Levi had a feeling that answering anything might cause him to get beheaded. He chose not to say anything, conscious that Hanji’s side was with the titans, for some reason. _What could she possibly have found that made her feel so empathetic towards them?_

“That goes for you and your organisation, too.” Hanji said to Erwin. “Promise me you will report to them _after_ we come back from Mirstone.”

Erwin furrowed his brows, but Hanji looked _determined_.

And they were. Erwin was aware of that.

“Alright,” Erwin complied. “But you’ll send me reports everyday.”

Hanji nodded, and paced around the office, trying to figure out where to start.

“The basics, four-eyes.” Levi interrupted them. “Begin with the basics.”

_Right._

“The titans don’t live in a single place, they’re actually among us.” Hanji blurted out, and left no time for the other people in the office to adjust to the news, because they spoke again. “They tend to concentrate in one single place and have done so since the past seventy years, which is called Mirstone. It is unknown why they chose to remain there out of all the places they could have chosen, but it is located in Alaska, near Anchorage.”

Hanji swore they saw Erwin curse.

They could even guess what he was thinking.

_Why didn’t we think of Alaska?_

“Their leader’s name is Amara Alpin.” Hanji continued. “It is a guess, but I suppose she’s their new leader and has been for at least five years, because it has been five years since the rumors burst out. It is unknown whether she’s their president or their sovereign, but she’s the one in charge, that’s for sure.”

“What do we know about her?” Mikasa asked, and both Levi _and_ Hanji stared at her.

“She’s… weird.” Levi replied, and Hanji elbowed him.

“She’s not.” They argued. “We have footage of her doing things that are… strange, I admit it. But it can be explained scientifically.”

“They’ll be the judge of that.” Levi replied, Hanji’s laptop in his hands, playing back the footage of Amara’s appearance. Hanji did not even have the energy to remind him that it was _their_ computer and that he had no right to use it whenever he wanted, but they gave up.

And they didn’t regret it, especially after seeing the kids’ reaction to Amara’s abilities.

It was not disgust, but amazement.

_This was why kids were precious._

Armin, especially, practically burst out with theories to explain what they had seen. Hanji _knew_ they would have to talk about it on their way to Mirstone.

“There is nothing about her anywhere except that footage,” Hanji explained after their excitement wore off. “However, I found a lot of information on someone called Genevieve. It could be her predecessor.”

“So how does it work, has she been dethroned?” Levi wondered, and Hanji shrugged.

“There is no way to know at the moment.” Hanji informed him. “The only way to know is to actually ask some titans.”

Everybody thought about that for a couple of seconds, and then Erwin broke the silence. “What about the organisation inside?”

“I have no idea how their economy works, but I know they have guards, guards-in-training and even outside guards.” Hanji stated. “If I’m not mistaken, they also have a college and welcome students from all around the world, which is going to be useful for you to go undercover.”

“We’re going to be college students?” Eren asked.

Hanji nodded. “It’s the best way for you to become a part of their people. There is also a training guard, but I think college suits you best. You won’t even have to pretend a lot, just behave normally.”

“I’m fine with that.” Eren said. “So it’s just the five of us?”

“For your own safety, you understand we cannot let 4 civilians into unknown territory with only one police officer.” Erwin answered. “Six other trainees will come with you. They belonged to the top ten of their corps and are extremely skilled. Reiner Braun, Berthold Hoover, Annie Leonhart, Sasha Braus, Connie Springer and Jean Kirschtein will accompany you to Mirstone.”

Eren nearly dropped his bag on the floor. “Jean?!”

“Eren, please.” Mikasa attempted to calm him down, but it was too late. Eren was already fuming.

“What is that prick doing on such an important mission?!”

Hanji smirked. “What, you know him?”

Armin and Mikasa’s pitiful nod served as an answer.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not going to be near each other!” They retorted.

_Jean and Eren were going to be near each other, but Hanji couldn’t tell him yet._

“What about you?” Armin wondered. “Where are you going to go undercover?”

Hanji smirked. Ages ago, they had thought about that. Given everything they knew about Mirstone, there was only one place where they would fit perfectly.

“The tower of Knowledge.” Hanji replied. “According to what I found, it’s the only place in Mirstone where there is technology, because two of the world’s most famous scientists live there, according to rumors. It's like a tailor-made destination for me.”

Levi tsked. “Rumors, rumors, always rumors. Why don’t we have anything concrete on this place?”

“Because getting information on them is risky.” Hanji informed him. “If it weren’t for Moblit, I would never have been able to get everything I know about them. Not that long ago, a group of people from France attempted to penetrate Mirstone after decades of searching. The last time I heard from them, they stated that extremely skilled guards that looked like they came from the dark ages stopped them from entering.”

Erwin knew about them. They were an independent group of people who had trained their entire life to get inside Mirstone. When they were arrested, they refused to tell why they wanted to go there, but admitted that getting inside Mirstone was impossible if you weren’t invited. Only one of their soldiers was admitted inside, but when they had tried to contact him, their ruler _herself_ had advised them not to try to bother him again.

“Who are the two scientists, by the way?” Eren asked, and Hanji searched her own files, grinning when she saw what she was looking for.

“Edward Stehle and Mason Swishburn.” Hanji replied, turning the files so the kids could see who they were, though Hanji knew the two men's faces were famous. “Two highly intelligent men belonging to the science field. Stehle was a brilliant engineer and Swishburn was an immunologist.”

Armin knew them. As a teenager, he had gotten interested in their work, but his interest died shortly when the two men disappeared from the surface of the earth.

“They’ve been missing for over five years,” Armin retorted. “Do you think they’re in Mirstone?”

Hanji smirked. “I’m convinced they’re here. Besides, Stehle disappeared after we heard the news of his incurable illness, and Swishburn had contracted his daughter’s as well. It makes sense.”

“But if they were both ill, how do you explain their survival, if they’re truly alive?” Levi wondered.

“They are. I guarantee it.” Hanji declared. “I think they might even have found the resources to cure their illnesses there.”

“So that’s what Mirstone is, uh? A safe haven with all the resources in the world?” Levi commented.

“Perhaps. It might also be the reason why they’ve been so silent for several decades. They don’t want to be invaded.”

“Understandable.” Levi replied. “But we’re going to do exactly that. Invade them.”

“No we’re not! I don’t plan to stay there.”

“How long do you think the mission could take?” Erwin asked, and Hanji thought about it.

First, they would have to gain the people’s trust, which could take weeks, months, or perhaps _years_. Then, they would have to research everything they can learn about the titans. This means they could have to meet people, including their leader, to ask more information about them, while trying not to blow their cover.

“I honestly don’t know. I’ll be able to confirm that once we get there.” Hanji replied.

“Talking about that, when are we leaving?” Armin wondered, and everybody looked at Erwin.

“I’m not the chief of this mission,” Erwin retorted. “Ask Hanji.”

Hanji tilted their head. They had expected Levi to be in charge of it because he had more field experience, despite knowing nothing about the subject.

“Well, we can leave tonight, if you don’t have anything planned.” Hanji suggested. “Your recruits, can they be ready for tonight?”

Erwin nodded. “It can be arranged”

Levi tsked, wrote something on a piece of paper, which Hanji caught a glimpse at, and tossed it to Eren.

“You three go there, equip yourselves. We’ll be gone for a while, so don’t pack lightly.”

“Then, go to the flat above the flowershop.” Hanji requested. “It’s my place. It’ll be easier to explain the route to Mirstone once we’re there.”

The three nodded, and quickly disappeared to Kensington Street, which was the address written on the piece of paper. Only the three older people of the group remained in the room, and Erwin began tidying Hanji’s files.

“Ah, don’t bother.” They interrupted him. “This is all junk. But good job finding it all, though. It was thoroughly hidden.”

“Well, I’m thorough.” Levi replied, and Hanji chuckled.

Then, they stared at Levi, which apparently displeased him. With a single stare, he asked them to fuck off, which made Hanji grin.

Erwin, who was watching silently, had only one thing to say: _these two make a great pair._

As if Hanji had been reading his thoughts, they stared at him, illuminated by a question. “Oh by the way, since Moblit isn’t coming, who’s going to be my partner?” they asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Levi retorted. “I am.”

“Do I have to though? I’m not sure I can handle his temper.”

“Hey, you’re the insufferable one, four eyes.”

“I mean, Armin has no partner, so I probably could ask him-”

“For your own safety, Levi will be your partner.” Erwin cut their bickering. “Given the lengths you went to obtain such highly classified information on Mirstone, I doubt you’ll be safe once you’re out there, and Levi will be there to ensure your safety. Besides, it will require teamwork between the two of you.”

Hanji smiled. Levi was perfect for the mission. Hanji had heard of him by name only, and everybody agreed to say he was the best cop in his entire department, surpassing even Chelmey, or Hastings, who was always helped by Katrielle.

But despite being so efficient, Levi had an issue: he hated working with someone else, and deemed that teamwork was, as he once said, “fucking useless”.

“I see. So it’s beneficial for both of us.” Hanji concluded.

Erwin nodded. “Levi will send you my info, just in case you have questions. He will mostly be the one communicating with me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make a phone call.”

After Hanji shook hands with Erwin, they waved him goodbye, and they realized that they wouldn’t see him for quite some time.

Levi, however, was pouring himself another cup of tea. In the mood for teasing, Hanji approached him, putting their head over his shoulder to sniff the teapot.

Which caused them to _almost_ get an elbow in their ribs.

Hanji thanked themselves for their own reflexes.

“Back off, four eyes.”

“Such a bad boy, Levi.” Hanji teased him. “You haven’t even poured me a cup.”

“You don’t deserve it.”

Hanji pouted, but remained near him, leaning against the buffet. Looking at him through their fringe, they smirked when Levi finally tsked, after a couple of seconds of silent staring.

“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that, four eyes?”

“The riddle.” Hanji replied. “It was you.”

When Hanji had caught a glimpse of what Levi had written on the piece of paper he had given to Eren, they had recognized the penmanship instantly: it was the same as the one on the note they had read downstairs.

Levi took a sip of his cup. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The paper the officer gave me.” Hanji retorted. “You wrote the riddle on it. I thought it was somebody else, but… I didn’t know you were fond of puzzles.”

When Levi looked away, Hanji chuckled. Then, Levi spoke again.

“I’m full of surprises.”

Hanji raised an eyebrow, and sensed Levi already regretted saying this. It would be used against him, at some point, he was certain of it.

“Aren’t you getting ready for the trip?” Levi asked once Hanji was picking up their files, assessing what was worthy of being kept and what was truly junk.

Hanji looked at Levi with all the seriousness they could muster. “I’ve been ready for months, Levi.”

Levi tsked, and began picking up the papers with them. Hanji couldn’t help but notice how not-thrilled Levi was at the idea of discovering a new civilisation, and possibly a new humanoid species.

It almost made Hanji sad.

“I know you’re sceptical about Mirstone, but trust me, I would never lie about this.” Hanji admitted after a while, and Levi didn’t answer anything.

Silently, Levi closed Erwin’s office, gave the key to the officer downstairs (the one who had given Hanji the riddle) and they both walked out of Scotland Yard, heading to Hanji’s place.

Hanji lived above a flower shop in Kensington Street, a peaceful flat with a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and even a balcony. The owner, an old lady who always wore berets, was a friend of the dean Delmona. Hanji had moved in there while they were a student, and had never thought of moving out. The place was highly convenient, with its bus stop less than five minutes away, which drove the professor directly to Gressenheller.

The inside was well, like Hanji’s life: messy. If they had to choose between tidying up their place and research, their choice was easily made.

Thus when Levi entered, he outright _groaned_.

“Four eyes.” Levi seethed through his teeth. “What do you say we do some cleaning?”

Hanji shrugged their shoulders, taking off their coat and sweatshirt.

“Do whatever you want,” Hanji replied. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

Levi didn’t have the time to grab Hanji and force them to clean their own mess, since they were already gone.

Hanji walked out of the shower twenty minutes after with their hair dripping wet on the white floor tiles and towel around their body, and they instantly wondered _where the hel_ _l they were._

The piles of paper everywhere were gone, their clothes had been folded back into their cupboard, and the dishes had been done.

Levi sat in the middle of the now-gone mess, peacefully reading a piece of paper he had found while sitting on the couch, which had been ridden off the three or-so blankets that used to lie on it.

“Wow, Levi!” Hanji blurted out when they saw the extent of the cleaning he had done. “I didn’t know you cleaned so well. Definitely husband material.”

Levi _did not_ blush at that remark. “Shut up, shitty four eyes. I couldn’t even breathe in such a mess. I wonder how you even live there.”

“I don’t.” Hanji informed him. “I mostly live at uni, since I’m too lazy to come back here. I haven’t been here in almost a month, if I remember correctly.”

When Levi didn’t answer, Hanji turned around, and immediately noticed that Levi was looking away on purpose.

And that he looked embarrassed.

They quickly understood why he avoided meeting their gaze. Their towel was a bit short, and though everything was hidden, their chest was almost showing.

“Are you going to put some clothes on?” Levi asked, still not looking directly at them.

“Well, I do whatever I want.” Hanji retorted. “This is my house.”

Levi tsked, but Hanji went to their room to put some clothes on. Less than an hour after they went back to the living room, Armin, Eren and Mikasa entered their flat, heavy camping bags on their backs. Levi nodded, appreciating how much they had taken, and Hanji chuckled at the exchange.

“You were fast!” Hanji exclaimed, moving their wrist to look at her watch. “It has merely been an-”

“Hanji, it has been over an hour.” Levi informed them harsly. “You haven’t even realized how fast time passed because you were busy talking about your _fucking_ titans.”

The students in the room laughed. Levi figured out it might be a habit of their professor.

“Anyway, I’ll explain the route you’ll have to take, now.” Hanji declared, laying a map on the table. “On the north-east side of Mirstone, you’ll find its college, surrounded by the mountains. Now from what I know, the students who want to enroll in Mirstone don’t actually go _inside_ Mirstone, but rather take a separate path in the mountains.”

“We’re separating, then.” Levi concluded, and Hanji nodded.

“We can’t go through the main entrance, because there are guards there.” Hanji informed him. “But we can bypass this entrance and enter from the back, where the outside guard is. This is where the titan refugees go in. If we lie, they might accept us inside.”

Armin nodded, and Levi’s phone rang. Excusing himself, he went out on the balcony to pick up his phone. It reminded Hanji of something they had to do, and quickly typing on their phone, they sent out a text.

“What do you think we’re going to see, once we’re there?” Eren asked Hanji, and Hanji set down their phone to answer.

“Well, there are rumors that going to Mirstone is like going back to the dark ages, because of the beauty of the place and its buildings. “Hanji replied. “And the people, well, they come from the entire world, but something has attracted their interest, and it must have been enough for them to want to remain there their whole life.”

Armin seemed to ponder over that, probably searching what could encourage them to remain in Mirstone for so long. Then, Levi walked back inside the room, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“It was Erwin.” Levi informed them. “He said the flight for Anchorage is tonight at 8:15. There’s a stop in Iceland and the second flight is in the morning, but he has already booked a hotel for the entire team.”

“We have about two hours to get ready, then.” Hanji stated, and was about to continue when a knock on the door interrupted them. “Ah, that would be Moblit.”

As predicted, Moblit entered the flat, limping slightly, and his right arm was in a cast. “Good god Moblit, what happened to you?” Hanji wondered.

“I fell down the stairs.” Moblit admitted, and Hanji helped him settle down on the couch, next to Armin. “So, they know?”

Hanji nodded. But before they could explain how the meeting went, Levi spoke.

“So you’re the one who’s good at hacking highly confidential data, huh?”

Moblit bowed his head, embarrassed, but Hanji wrapped an arm around his good shoulder and brought him closer to them.

“Don’t listen to him, Moblit.” Hanji advised him. “He’s just jealous because he couldn’t find as much data as you did.”

“That’s false, shitty four eyes.”

Moblit tilted his head at the nickname.

“I’m sorry I can’t accompany you, Hanji.” Moblit said. “With my broken arm, I would be nothing but a dead weight. So I’ve readied the prototype we’ve talked about, and it should be working.”

Hanji lightened up. “It does?”

“Well, I haven’t been able to try it at a long distance, but from one side of London to the other, it does.” Moblit replied.

The professor nearly lunged at their assistant, hugging him tightly on one side. “Ah Moblit, what would I do without you?”

“It should connect you to me at all times, except when you deactivate it.” Moblit informed them once they let go of him. He grabbed a small box in the inside of his jacket, and handed it to Hanji. “There’s a manual inside. Read it carefully before you-”

“Hold on.” Levi interrupted him. “It will work, even an ocean away?”

Moblit, who took this as a challenge, lifted his chin to meet Levi’s gaze.

“I’m good at what I do.”

Levi tsked. _How typical of him_ , Hanji thought.

For the rest of the afternoon, the kids and Hanji mainly packed, revised their route, and some of them took naps. Then, in a car provided by Erwin, they all went to the airport and arrived there right on time. Levi, after walking out of the car, saluted a group of young people, who Hanji guessed were the recruits.

What they had not guessed, however, was how Eren and Jean would react to seeing one another.

“The fuck are you doing here, Jäger?” Jean blurted out while Levi was explaining something, earning a killer stare from the agent.

Eren didn’t reply anything. Armin, _and Hanji thanked god for Armin (as many do)_ , had had the brilliant idea to separate them, putting at least 30 meters between them.

Yet, it seemed like it wasn’t enough.

From the other end of the airport, Hanji could still hear Eren whining about how this mission had to be cancelled simply because Jean was there.

At some point, Hanji had enough. Putting their bag on the floor, they winked at Levi before walking towards where Eren was, and separated him from Armin and Mikasa to talk to him face to face.

“What’s wrong Eren?” Hanji faked. “Can’t stand Jean?”

Eren looked like he could list a thousands of reasons why Jean was a pain in the ass, but Hanji didn’t let him do that.

“Listen carefully, young man. You are an adult, and if you make this mission fail in any way because of your childish behaviour, I will unleash hell upon you, do you understand me?”

Eren systematically nodded. It was enough for Hanji who walked back towards where the recruits were, and noticed that Levi was staring at him with something akin to fear in his eyes.

Levi, on his side, had only one thing on his mind.

_Never anger the shitty four eyes._

Hanji, after answering the recruits’ questions (mostly Sasha’s and Connie’s, whom Hanji noticed were quite enthusiastic about all this), they boarded the plane and made sure Jean and Eren were _near_ the other.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Levi asked Hanji, pointing at Armin sitting between Eren and Jean who were both crossing their arms and facing the opposite side.

Hanji smirked. “They’ll have to cooperate. Teamwork will be essential for this mission to work, after all.”

Levi sighed, watching Armin in front of him trying to reason Eren, in vain. The boy was as stubborn as a mule.

The flight was quick, and mostly silent. Hanji might have dozed off on Levi’s shoulder for a bit, but it didn’t seem to have bothered the police agent, since Hanji still had their head on their shoulders when they woke up.

_No beheading for to_ _day_ , Hanji thought.

The hotel was located right in front of the airport, and Hanji mentally thanked Erwin for that. For some reason, going on a plane always tired the professor, and gave them severe headaches.

This time was no exception.

Blindly following Levi, they merely groaned as an answer whenever someone asked them anything, too exhausted to bother saying words.

Levi seemed to handle things perfectly, since after ten minutes or so, the two of them were walking towards the last room Erwin had booked, which was supposed to be their own.

Hanji wanted only one thing: to sleep.

Yet upon hearing the grunt Levi made once he opened the door, they knew it would be difficult for a very particular reason.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“What’s wrong?” Hanji asked, waving a hand in the air to find Levi, the other one on their eyes to hide the painful lights.

Their fingers touched a toned back, and Hanji stopped walking to assess whatever damage Levi had seen.

Though their vision was blurry, Hanji quickly realized what was wrong.

There was only one bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh no there is only one bed.......
> 
> a new chapter (yay) 
> 
> sorry if it was a bit boring, it was supposed to be longer but i got lazy and felt like it would be better to cut it there... please bear with me
> 
> thank you for your comments!!!!! yall are so nice ;-;
> 
> next chapter : an impromptu meeting happens.........


	3. mutual meeting place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hi!! here i am with a new chapter... 
> 
> if you have any prompts to suggest me, feel free to leave them in the comments!! writing chapters for this work takes time so i'd like to change a bit, when i'm not feeling inspired!! (i will continue to write this, if anyone's interested lol)
> 
> and as always, this isn't proofread so tell me if u see mistakes and typos!! 
> 
> now if you'll excuse me, i have to watch versailles (a beautiful show, we stan) have a good day!!

“I’ll take the chair.” Levi stated, crossing his arms. “You sleep on the bed, since you’re sick.”

“M’not sick.”

“You look like you are.”

“Gimme your hands.”

Levi never put his hands to his chest so fast in his life.

“The fuck?” He blurted out, but Hanji grabbed his hand anyway, putting it on their forehead, and sighed when his fingers touched their skin.

The agent did not storm out at them. Remembering Erwin’s advice, which was to stay calm, he breathed in and out, and slowly regained his composure.

“I think you’re being a bit too comfortable around me.” Levi calmly said, to which Hanji replied by leaning into his hand even more.

“Have to. We’re partners, remember?”

Levi tsked. Of course he would.

“Yeah, and we don’t even know each other.” Levi retorted. “And why are you even doing this?”

“Your hands are cold, it soothes the pain.” Hanji explained, and Levi understood _(for once)_. “You know what they say. Cold hands, warm heart. I’ll make sure there’ll be a soft spot in that warm heart of yours by the end of the trip."

Levi took his hand back at the speed of light, and attempted to hide his _fucking_ teenager blush.

“Nobody says that.”

Hanji pouted, took off their shoes and coat, and then plopped down on the bed face first.

“M’not moving anymore. Good night. Wake me up before we leave tomorrow.”

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Four eyes.”

No answer came.

Levi tried again.

“Shitty four eyes. Hanji. Hanji Zoe.”

This time, he shook their shoulder, and _finally_ heard a grunt.

They weren’t asleep.

“Hanji.” Levi tried again. “You can’t sleep. You’re still wearing clothes.”

“-could stop me.”

“What?”

Hanji sighed, turned over, and finally opened their eyes again.

“I said, as if that could stop me. What are you going to do, read?”

Hanji gazed at him with half-opened eyes, and Levi doubted they could maintain a proper conversation any longer. He hoped they wouldn’t feel the same way tomorrow after their arrival to Mirstone, because that would be the time where everybody would need Hanji’s help and guidance, especially since they were in an unknown territory that only Hanji knew.

When Levi didn’t answer, Hanji continued speaking. “It is crucial that you go to sleep. For at least five hours. Professor’s orders.”

Levi scoffed. “Five hours is a lot”

“Then four.” Hanji retorted. “We’ll take things slowly. And for god’s sake, don’t sleep on a chair.”

“What, are you suggesting we sleep together?”

“Yes!”

Hanji, because of their headache, did not notice how ambiguous it sounded.

Levi, however, couldn’t hide the odd look on his face.

Then, Hanji realized what they had said.

“I mean, it’s highly practical for the two of us if we simply share a bed, besides it’s a double sized one, and we’re not that large, so we could probably fit in there without having to share space or-”

“Four eyes, I get it.” Levi cut them. “Move.”

Obediently moving to the far end of the bed, Hanji watched as Levi went under the covers with them, having removed his shoes, jacket and pants at some point, when Hanji wasn’t paying attention.

This gave Hanji the idea to remove their clothes, because though they had said it couldn’t stop them, their jeans were still highly uncomfortable.

Once their pants, sweater and socks were off, Hanji sighed in relief.

“If you so as much touch me I will kick you.” Levi warned them.

Hanji chuckled. “Message received, agent. Goodnight.”

Levi didn’t answer. And even if he did, Hanji wouldn’t have been able to hear it: they were already asleep.

When Levi opened his eyes again, it was nearly day. The sun was barely set, and he noticed it had been years since he woke up and it wasn’t jet black outside.

_Beneficial for both of us, huh._

Talking about of _us_ , Levi wondered where Hanji was. They weren’t on his left, where he had left them.

A soft snore on his stomach answered his question.

There Hanji lied, their cheek on his belly and arm wrapped around his waist. Their legs were half in the bed, half out of it. And they were holding onto him tightly, Levi realized as he attempted to move, in vain.

After a tremendous effort, Levi managed to grab his phone on the night stand, and checked what time it was.

They had about less than two hours until their departure time, which meant that they would have to wake up soon to make sure everybody was there and ready to leave.

“Hanji.” Levi tried, in vain: the professor was a dead weight on his lap, unwilling to move.

“ _Levi-san?” Moblit asked shyly, leaning against the counter of Hanji’s kitchen as Levi was busy packing up._

_Levi turned around, and faced the young man. There, he realized that Moblit was taller than him, despite his limp that made him crouch a bit._

“ _Are you going to be Hanji’s partner for this mission?” Moblit asked._

_Levi sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”_

“ _I know they’re insufferable, but they’re good at what they do.” Moblit joked. “Can I ask you to do one thing?”_

_Levi raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”_

“ _Take care of them.” Moblit requested. “They don’t really know how to fight, so you’ll have to do that, physically speaking. They do most things based on instinct, despite how dangerous it is sometimes, so you’ll have to make sure they don’t get hurt in the process. Given what we’ve found on Mirstone, this could be challenging for you and them, emotionally speaking. They usually rely on me for anything feelings-related, so they’ll need to get it out, at some point. Talking usually does the trick, but if it doesn’t, you should try suggesting them to invent a new device, or-”_

“ _Moblit.” Levi interrupted them. “I get it. I’ll take care of them. You can rest assured.”_

Hanji grabbed him closer, and Levi sighed. “I did not sign up for this, Moblit.”

He tried again, but shook their shoulder slightly this time.

“Oi, four eyes. Wake up.”

And this time, it seemed to work. Hanji stirred, and put their face down against what they believed to be their pillow (it was Levi’s abs).

The warmth of skin against their own did not seem to surprise them. Leaning further against him, Hanji breathed in and out, and grabbed tighter.

Levi had enough. The both of them were _furnaces._

“Hanji. We’re gonna be late.” Levi muttered, and Hanji lifted their head to gaze at him.

Two things happened after that.

Hanji, probably because of their near-sightedness, narrowed their eyes and attempted to see better.

Then, when they realized they were sleeping on _and_ next to Levi, they grew confused, and Levi swore he saw the hint of a blush on their cheeks.

“Did we-”

“No, four eyes.” Levi interrupted them before they could think the two of them had done _god knows what._ “We didn’t.”

Hanji sighed in relief, and put their forehead against Levi’s stomach. They straightened up right after, mumbling an incomprehensible mix of words, and Levi waited until they were done.

“I’m thankful because it would be awkward, and because I don’t remember anything, not for some other reason.” Hanji explained themselves, but Levi had understood why they sighed before they even opened their mouth.

“It’s okay, I get it.” Levi said. “Let’s move. You’re still… cuddling me.”

“Ah, sorry.” Hanji apologized, putting their arms away from him. “It’s a habit I’ve gotten from sleeping around Moblit.”

Levi scoffed. “Just what exactly is your relationship with this Moblit guy?”

“What, are you jealous?” Hanji joked.

“Tsk, as if.”

Hanji stood up, yawned and stretched.

 _Like a cat_ , Levi noticed.

They walked towards their bag, pulled out new clothes and changed into them. Levi, out of politeness, turned when they did.

Hanji, however, did not turn around when Levi pulled his shirt off. So when they noticed an odd scar on his back that strangely resembled a bullet wound, they did not hesitate to approach him and poke at his skin.

“What’s this, there?”

“Oi, don’t touch that.” Levi ordered.

“That’s a bullet wound.” Hanji stated. “Strange, I haven’t seen any mentions of a wound in your file.”

Levi narrowed his eyes as he buttoned up his shirt. “You’ve read my file?”

“Of course.” Hanji replied. “I’ve done my research on you. So, where did you get this? Did you hide it from your bosses? I mean, given how close it is to your spine, it must have hurt, might even have paralysed you, so you-”

“It’s from before I was a police agent.” Levi informed them, and Hanji spoke no more.

They would ask about it again, Levi simply knew it.

But for now, the pair walked out of their room, and met the kids in the hall of the hotel, where most of them were having breakfast. Hanji plopped down on one of the couches, next to Armin who was enjoying an Icelandic oatmeal for breakfast.

“How was your night?” Hanji asked, stealing one of his snacks.

Armin almost choked on his food. “Alright, if you omit the fact that Eren almost killed Jean with a pillow.”

“He did _what_ now?”

Eren lowered his head. “Jean started it.”

Hanji chuckled. _It was impossible to change those two._

Levi decided to go check on the other members of the team. Connie, Jean and Sasha were on the other end of the hall, Connie visibly stopping Sasha from filling her mouth with food, while Jean stood on the side as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Levi decided _not_ to go talk to them.

He settled for the most silent group, which was Reiner’s. Reiner and Berthold were chatting about something, while Annie silently ate.

“Are you ready?” Levi asked, appearing out of a sudden near them, sounding more cryptic than he had intended to be.

The two men jumped slightly in surprise, but Annie did not even flinch. Reiner nodded and saluted Levi.

Levi decided they were too stuck-up for him to stay with them.

Thus, he _(begrudgingly)_ walked back towards the shitty four-eyes, sitting on the couch opposite them. Through the window in front of him, Levi could see the beautiful morning sky, with its shades of orange as the sun rose slowly. It was early in Keflavik, and Levi knew than when they’d arrive to Anchorage, it would be even earlier.

Ignoring Armin and Hanji’s conversation about titans, Levi followed the group when they finally boarded on their second plane, the one which would take them to Mirstone.

To be honest, Levi didn’t understand Armin or Hanji’s excitement. It was true that when Erwin had sought him out, a couple of weeks ago, right after Levi had been suspended for being _maybe a bit_ too violent with one of his bosses who was _clearly_ wrong and _fucking stupid_ , Levi had been sceptical about the whole thing.

He still was, to be honest. He doubted they would find anything like the rumors claim, such as people who are immortal and a safe sanctuary where you can find the resources to heal any illness. It simply didn’t make sense to Levi.

But then, he told himself that Hanji was convinced there was something for them to see in Mirstone. And if Erwin, who belonged to a powerful organization, had asked for his help, then maybe, _maybe_ , it meant that it wasn’t just rumors.

Thus, when they landed in Anchorage at 6AM, Levi prayed they would find something, anything.

Because his sleep schedule was fucked (even more than before) and he was _dying_ to go back to the Scotland Yard headquarters.

“The van over there is for us.” Levi announced to Hanji and the others, who began walking in the direction of the black van on the parking of the airport.

“Perfect.” Hanji commented. “We have to take route one and ride until we get to Cooper Landing. From there, we’ll go on foot.”

Levi nodded. He put his bag in the trunk, sat behind the driver’s seat, and turned the engine on. After checking in the rear-view mirror if everyone was in the van, Levi rode off the airport.

Cooper Landing was approximately two hours away from their starting point, thus Hanji took the time to thoroughly explain the route the recruits would have to take to get to Mirstone.

“I suppose that if you pretend to be a group of friends trying to figure out whether you want to go to college or become guards, they’ll welcome you in.” Hanji stated. “Which means that you’ll have to cross the mountains via the path the students take, which should be indicated on your way. Levi and I can’t do that, so at some point, we’ll be separated.”

“When and where do we meet?” Jean wondered.

Hanji did not miss the way Eren tsked at his question.

“I’ll give you two days to settle, once we’re there, and then Levi and I will go to college. It’s safer that way, since we don’t know much about how it is inside.” Hanji declared.

“Remember to be cautious about your surroundings.” Levi reminded them. “It’s as if we were in enemy territory. We don’t know how they might react to us. If you feel cornered, you run away.”

“Eyes on the road, old man.” Hanji joked. “But he’s right, you do need to worry about yourselves. Moblit has given me earphones for all of you, so we should be alright, but don’t hesitate to run if you’re in danger.”

As they said this, they gave the earpieces to Armin, who passed them to everybody. The rest of the ride was mostly done in silence, with some of them catching up on the hours of sleep they missed because they were too busy _strangling each other with a pillow._

Once they arrived to Cooper Landing, Levi stopped the car. Looking in the rear-mirror, he noticed that everybody but Reiner, Berthold and Annie were awake, looking back at him in the mirror.

Levi had met strange soldiers, but those three were definitely stranger.

Pushing Hanji’s shoulder, he waited until they stirred, then grunted, then opened their eyes.

“Are we in Cooper Landing?” They asked groggily.

Levi nodded. Then, he pressed the klaxon, and everyone jumped awake.

“We’re here.” Levi announced. “Let’s get off.”

Everyone did as they were told, and walked out of the van. There, they realized how beautiful Alaska was.

They were surrounded by hills and mountains covered in beautiful green trees. The road they were on was in the middle of two hills, and the sun was shining right between them. On their right, a small path had been carved, probably by man, Hanji thought, and they couldn’t even see where it went, given how deep and vast the forest was. The usual sound of traffic and people the team was used to in London had been replaced by the eerie sounds of nature, of its cicadas and wild animals.

Hanji suddenly realized that _this_ must have been why the titans had been drawn to Mirstone.

“Let’s get moving.” Levi ordered. “Hanji, how long until we have to separate?”

“About two hours.” They answered. “We have to follow this path until there’s a large white spruce with a green ribbon around it.”

Bracing themselves, they began walking, Hanji in the back with Armin, Eren and Mikasa, Reiner, Berthold and Annie in the middle, and Levi at the front with Connie, Jean and Sasha, who kept stopping every couple of meters to point at claw marks in tree barks and state what animal had left its print. _The girl grew up in the countryside, this must be heaven for her,_ Hanji thought.

“Ah, to think that I would be going on the trip of our lives with you when two days ago I couldn’t even remember your name, what a surprise!” Hanji joked as they walked, and Armin chuckled.

“To be honest, I had known for at least a month that we’d travel together,” Armin admitted. “It was hard not to say anything in class.”

Hanji laughed. “I noticed you avoided my gaze even more, recently.” they pointed out. “By the way, how did Erwin find you?”

“I don’t really know.” Armin said. “I came home one day, and he was in my apartment. I thought he was an intruder.”

Hanji grinned at the idea of Erwin as a burglar, trying to rob someone’s house.

“He told me what brought him here, and asked me about you.” Armin explained.

“What did he ask?”

“Random things.” Armin told them. “When did you teach, what were your courses made of, how did you teach, and he also asked if you publicly commented on the rumors about the titans.”

Hanji did not comment on those rumors. If they were asked about it, they usually answered that they knew nothing about it, when on the contrary, they were the one who knew the most about this subject.

Of course, _that_ must have helped Erwin know that Hanji knew about the subject.

Once they arrived to the white spruce with a green ribbon, an hour and a half after, they were already deep into the forest. Hanji tried to hide the fact that they were panting, in vain. Levi, when Hanji approached him, looked at them from head to toe.

“Tired, four-eyes?” Levi teased them. “We might have to walk slower.”

Hanji stuck their tongue out at him. Everyone sat to drink some water. 

“Hanji-san...” Jean whispered after a couple of minutes, and both of the adults turned over, worried by the young man’s tone.

Following whatever Jean was pointing at, Hanji tilted their head when they saw the sign planted in the grass.

“Students of Dionadair, go this way.” Hanji read. “That’s great! It means we’re on the right path. But why do you sound so worried?”

Jean swallowed. “Because this sign wasn’t there, when we arrived.”

“What?”

“We probably missed it.” Levi said.

“No, we didn’t.” Armin argued, shyly moving towards the professor. “I’ve taken a picture, Hanji-san. Look.”

Hanji and Levi looked at the picture. It had been taken ten minutes ago, when they had first arrived in front of the white spruce, and there was no sign on the grass where it now stood, in front of them.

“What the hell…” Levi blurted out.

“I’ve read about this.” Hanji stated. “The first people who came to Mirstone said they were lost. They thought it was a forest with nothing in it, but as they walked towards the centre, more and more things appeared in front of them.”

“Are you saying the sign appeared?” Reiner wondered.

Hanji nodded. “I’m certain of it. It’s gonna continue as you walk closer to Mirstone.”

“So, is this where we part?” Eren asked, and Hanji patted him on the shoulder.

“It is.” Hanji answered. “Follow the trees with green ribbons around them and you should arrive to Mirstone’s college. Moblit will be with you in your ear if you’re lost, right Moblit?”

“Affirmative.” Moblit replied in their ears. “I’ll be there if you need me.”

“Well, I wish you good luck.” Hanji added. “You’ll be fine, I know it.”

The team saluted them, and Levi and Hanji took the direction opposite the sign, towards another mountain. If Hanji wasn’t mistaken, the entrance to the outside guard was behind it. Crossing the mountain was a hassle, it was tiring (for Hanji, Levi never seemed to break a sweat), but once they were behind it, the view was absolutely stunning.

They walked on a sloping ground, and Hanji pointed at a large pine tree in the middle, a smile on their face.

“Moblit! I found the pine tree!”

“Awesome.” Moblit replied. “The outside guard should be nearby. Beware of your surroundings.”

“Why should we beware?” Levi wondered.

Hanji grabbed a pine cone from the ground and walked backwards, facing Levi. “Because the members of the outside guard check those grounds for newcomers, or outsiders.”

“They aren’t here.” Levi pointed out, looking around them.

“True.” Hanji conceded. “Perhaps they’re busy.”

Still, they went down the slope, and as they approached the pine tree, Hanji sniffed a couple of times, earning a strange gaze from Levi, who with one gaze, asked them what was wrong.

“It smells like… flesh.” Hanji informed him, and though they thought they might be wrong, Levi seemed to agree.

“I’d even say that it smells like blood.” Levi added. “As if gallons of it had been spilled on the floor.”

Hanji nodded. The air had a metallic scent, and one that wasn’t reassuring. Still, they walked through the trees, vaguely noticing a plain area two dozen meters in front of them, where the large pine stood in the middle.

“Stop.” Levi ordered, and Hanji outright froze. Levi was always serious, but this time, they knew it was a matter of life or death.

Once Hanji stopped walking, Levi moved in front of them, and put one hand in his back, taking out his gun. Looking back at Hanji for approval, he waited until they nodded.

They did.

Fear was gnawing at their bones, and Hanji never felt so _terrified_.

But it went even worse as they moved closer to the source of the smell.

Hanji moved their shaking hands to Levi’s shoulders after he silently requested them to do so, probably scared of them losing themselves without him looking. Slowly, they approached the large pine in the middle of the area, where tents and other facilities stood, and that’s when Hanji realized they had stumbled upon a mystery far worse than everything they had ever seen.

In a circle laid approximately 25 bodies, or at least, the remnants of what had once been bodies. Their skin had been clawed at, their insides had been torn apart, the flesh of their faces had been bitten off, and for some of them, only their bones remained. They stood in a large pool of blood which had tainted the grass underneath them.

Those people, those guards, Hanji guessed because of their uniform, had been devoured, Hanji was sure of it. They thought it was an animal attack, but then, they walked near the body of a young woman, with brown hair in a ponytail, wide blue eyes and a surprised look on her face.

Her face, which was detached from her body, was precisely cut right above where her clavicles once were.

She had been beheaded.

This was the act of a man.

No, it was the act of a beast who wore human skin.

When Hanji’s hands began shaking again, Levi’s reflex was to grab them.

“Hanji, I need you to focus.” Levi whispered. “Concentrate. What’s the nearest safe place around us?”

But Hanji couldn’t answer. The only thing they could think of were the dead bodies around them, and the invading smell of decaying flesh.

“Oh god, Levi. What do we do?”

“Hanji, please. Moblit, we need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” Moblit asked in their ears, and Levi blessed him for not adding visual contact to the earpieces (if that was possible) because the sight, even to him, was truly awful, and nobody else should see it.

Levi hesitated before he answered.

Hanji did before he could.

“There are so many of them, Moblit. They’re all… torn apart and bitten and clawed at and-”

“Moblit, can you find us the nearest safe place?” Levi cut them, and heard the noise of Moblit’s keyboard.

A couple of seconds after, Moblit stopped. “The entrance should be on your left. What do you see, on your left?”

The pair looked on their left, and both froze.

Fifteen meters from where they were, there was something sitting on the ground, their back facing Hanji and Levi, unmoving.

“A man.” Hanji blurted out. “I see a man.”

“Hanji, we need to-”

“He may be alive. We’ve got to check.” Hanji stated, and escaped from Levi’s grasp.

Levi grabbed their wrist before they could run towards the man. “It’s dangerous. And I doubt he’s alive if all the others are-”

“Perhaps we can save him.” Hanji insisted. “We have to try.”

Levi sighed, looked towards the man, and surrendered. They were right, the man _could_ be alive. But he could also be the one who killed everybody.

Hanji didn’t seem to think to think about that. They braced themselves, and began walking towards the man, Levi right behind them. When they were barely two meters away from him, a branch Hanji walked on snapped, and the two _swore_ they saw the man move.

“My name is Hanji Zoe, I’m a professor.” Hanji attempted before they could even see whether the man was conscious or not. Their voice was still shaky, but they tried to shrug it off. “My friend and I were just passing by, and we saw your… colleagues. Can you tell us what happened?”

The man did not answer. Hanji took the opportunity to walk even closer to him, and raised their hands as they turned, and finally saw his face.

The man had his eyes closed. His arms, torso and face were lacerated, and he had a gaping wound on his stomach. He was dressed in the same outfit as the other bodies, but had two swords around his belt.

“Oh my god, those wounds are… are you alright?” Hanji blurted out when they saw what state he was in, and immediately knelt in front of him, taking their coat off to stop his bleeding.

“Hanji, wait-”

The professor didn’t even see him coming. The man opened his eyes at the speed of light, grabbed one of his swords and swung it.

Levi saw red.

There was no way Hanji could dodge it. Even if their reflexes were slightly better, the man was too fast.

Levi squeezed his eyes shut. Hanji did too.

The sound of flesh cutting a limb surprised them both. When Levi opened his eyes again, he saw a hand on the floor, separated from its owner.

Levi expected a scream.

None came.

What he didn’t expect was that someone else would arrive at the speed of light, which had apparently happened.

Hanji had been pushed away from the man, and the person, a woman with a long green cloak and short wavy hair that fell on her shoulders, was holding the man’s hand firmly with her left hand.

Her right hand had been cut off.

“Rin, it’s me.” The woman said. “The real me.”

Somehow, the man seemed to understand whatever that meant. His face went from enraged to relieved, and the woman took him in his arms.

“Tell Swishburn to come here.” The woman ordered, _to who? Hanji wondered._ “I want him to see this.”

Hanji lightened up at the mention of Swishburn. They turned their head to notice that soldiers were surrounding them, dressed differently than those from the outside guard. The woman and the man stood up, and she helped him sit on a large rock nearby.

Then, she turned around, and Hanji recognized her face.

“Amara Alpin.” Hanji blurted out.

The woman's gaze left her team, and landed on Hanji, studying them from head to toe with narrowed eyes.

“In person.” Amara replied. “Now, who might you be?”


	4. A Fearsome Foe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji and Levi finally meet the person they were so curious about, and get to know a bit more about whatever is happening in Mirstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw gore i guess? idk it mentions dead people, people being beheaded and human dissection. just in case you're uncomfortable with that.....

Hanji, despite the fear rattling their bones, stood back up. Brushing the dust off their pants, they took the time to stare at the stranger in front of them who, oddly, did not scare them despite what they had seen her do.

But before Hanji could speak, Levi had appeared in front of them at the speed of light, aiming his gun at Amara who, undaunted, simply stared back at the man threatening her.

“Your scepticism about my existence is hardly noticeable, Levi.” Amara joked. “But please, lower your weapon. I would hate for the bullet to miraculously curve and lodge itself in your right calf.”

Levi narrowed his eyes, and Hanji let their hand rest on his shoulder reassuringly, silently advising him to do as they were told.

“I will if you tell me how the fuck you know my name.” Levi stated.

“Language, Levi.” Amara chuckled, which utterly displeased the police agent. “I know many things. I know that you’re a scientist, and you’re a police agent. I know you’re both human. And I don’t deal with humans. What are you doing here?”

Her tone, which used to be light, suddenly grew darker at the mention of humans.

“I’ve heard many things about you.” Hanji said the nicest way they could. “Why is it that you call others ‘humans’, as if you didn’t belong to the species?”

Levi watched as Amara eyed up Hanji from head to toe, then finally answered.

“It’s because I don’t.”

Her cloak swung around her as she turned on her heels, her back facing them.

“I advise you to go back where you came from.” Amara suggested. “Since you tried to help Rin, I’ll let it slide.”

But of course, Hanji would not give up.

“In the outside world, I solve mysteries.” Hanji began, and somehow, Amara stopped walking to listen to the scientist, who continued speaking. “It seems you’re facing one. You could use my help.”

With the deadliest stare both Hanji and Levi had _ever_ seen, Amara looked back at the two intruders.

“How bold of you to suggest that, Hanji Zoe.” Amara uttered, turning around to face Hanji. “The last time I brought a human being inside my realm, I got tortured for _weeks_.”

Hanji gulped down.

_Where on earth were they? Do people get tortured on a daily basis and eaten alive here?_

“I ensure it personally.” Hanji swore. “Nothing of the sort will happen to you. Feel free to take my life if it happens.”

“Hanji!”

“I mean it.” Hanji repeated, ignoring Levi’s protests.

Amara truly seemed to consider it. For a couple of seconds, she simply stared at those two strangers that had attempted to penetrate inside her kingdom and had stumbled upon the remnants of her team.

_How odd,_ she thought _. But I’ve seen odder things._

“We need every hand we can get.” Amara finally surrendered. “Come. I’ll explain all the facts we have.”

_Ah, this one understands that whenever Hanji wants something, they get it_ , Levi thought.

Still, Hanji happily followed the leader, who probably accepted because she knew Hanji would never stop bothering her, Levi told himself.

Yet, it seemed fishy.

Levi grabbed Hanji’s arm, letting Amara talk to her team, alone.

“Oi.” Levi said. “So she simply… believed you?”

Hanji shrugged their shoulders. “It appears so. I’m not gonna complain, but-”

“But it’s weird, right?” Levi retorted. “You could be anyone. Do they just let people in like that?”

“If you’re wondering why I’m accepting your help, it’s because I actually considered hiring you, a couple of years ago.” Amara interrupted their conversation, a couple of meters away from them.

If Hanji had held a glass in their hands, they would have dropped it to the floor.

“You did?!” they blurted out.

“I had a traitor in my court and I needed to hire a private investigator, and you were one of the recommended people on my list.” Amara informed them.

“Who did you hire, then?” Hanji asked, and wondered if perhaps, the professor had been the one that solved this case.

Amara’s answer was quite different.

“A professional hitman.” she replied. “He did the job very well.”

“Is he helping you with this… issue, then?” Levi wondered, pointing at the soldiers surrounding the dead bodies Hanji and himself had discovered a couple of minutes before.

Amara sighed. “He’s currently busy with a mission overseas, and I fear for his survival here, thus I haven’t warned him of the situation.”

“What exactly _is_ the situation?” Hanji wondered.

Another sigh. Whatever was happening, it was highly bothering Amara.

They didn’t get to learn what the hell was happening until an hour after they arrived to Mirstone.

To be honest, Hanji didn’t know what was more impressive: the road to the inside of the kingdom or the report that this man they didn’t know with golden hair and ocean-blue eyes gave them.

When the inside of the kingdom finally appeared in front of our two protagonists, it was useless to say that they were absolutely unprepared for the sight that revealed itself to them.

Mirstone was indeed a safe haven. When they crossed the ark in the middle of the forest under Amara’s amused stare, roads started to appear, with signs and buildings far away, just like the sign had appeared earlier in the day, when they were still with the kids. That way, they were invisible to the rest of the world, who could search all day if they wanted to, but wouldn’t find anything.

_That’s how they made sure nobody would bother them, Hanji guessed._

Neither of them questioned the mechanism that allowed Mirstone to be hidden in plain sight yet invisible, but it was needless to say that none of them cared about it.

Following the small troop behind Amara, Hanji and Levi gasped when they finally reached the inside of the kingdom, and discovered why so many people had decided to remain here.

It was simply ethereal. The buildings were covered by honeysuckle and surrounded by trees, which made the place seem much older than it probably was. Hanji could see nothing that belonged to the twenty-first century, such as cars or buses or even phones. Among the people they met on their way to god knows where, none of them had electronic devices in their hands.

_So they truly live like the Hamish, Hanji told themselves._

The man, whose name was Amaury, explained to them that a couple of days ago, a member of the Canadian government had visited them with the intent of arresting Amara, whom he thought responsible for the deaths of several people. After a thorough investigation, the man understood she was innocent, but she decided to investigate on her own and left for two days.

Amaury added that when they came back, a close friend of Amara’s had been killed, along with three other citizens, and they had just received the news that Rin’s team, the ones Hanji and Levi found decimated by a wild animal, had been missing when they arrived. Our duo had arrived just a couple of minutes before they did, though.

Levi stayed silently by Hanji’s side while they kept asking questions to the young guard who accompanied them. Though getting information was essential, the police officer feared Hanji was forgetting about their main mission: establishing whether the titans were dangerous or not.

This had been the subject of one of their conversations while they were walking to Mirstone. 

_Hanji being Hanji, they had begun speaking to themselves in order to fill the gaps that Levi created while he stayed silent as they walked, which Hanji hated. The young professor needed to hear noise all the time. Silence actually felt terrifying for them. Without any surprise, Hanji talked about titans, about what they would do once they accepted the professor inside their community, and it was at that moment that Levi snapped._

“ _Haven’t you been briefed, four eyes?” Levi asked, and when Hanji lifted an eyebrow, he sighed. “Our mission is not simply to investigate them, remember? It’s protocol Zeta.”_

_Hanji pouted. “I don’t even know what that means.”_

“ _Why weren’t you listening earlier?” Levi grounded them. “It means investigate, then determinate if the target is dangerous. If it is, exterminate, if it isn’t, contain.”_

“ _Quite radical solution, don’t you think?”_

“ _We have no other option.” Levi argued. “They might be stronger than us. And according to the threats she made, she has an army that could overturn the country in a night.”_

_The young professor chuckled. “They’re just threats.”_

“ _We’ll see that.” Levi replied._

They arrived to what seemed to be a castle, or a temple, with white walls and dark blue windows. A young woman wearing what looked like a Victorian dress stepped out of the large door, welcoming Amara and her troop inside as they walked in.

Inside, other people were expecting Amara. There was a warrior with a long dark ponytail and a large shield, a brown-haired man with a bun in his hair and a rifle on his shoulder, who immediately joined Amaury and asked her about the whereabouts of the people Hanji and Levi had found dead. The most intriguing person present there was probably the tall black haired man who looked permanently angry, with his crossed arms and dark green armour made of leather.

Hanji stared at all of those people, then at themselves and Levi, and wondered where _the fuck_ they were.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Amara stated firmly, staring at the people surrounding her. “Didn’t I tell you to come back here tomorrow morning?”

“We all agreed we’d wait until you came back,” the man with the bun said. “So we’re here. What are the news from Rin’s team?”

Amara clenched her fingers on the file she was holding. “Only Rin survived. They’ve been decimated by an unknown beast.”

Hanji blinked, and for a second, she remembered the torn skin, blood spilled on the floor and the innocent expression on that beheaded girl’s face.

“Beasts can wear human skin.” the warrior said, and Hanji fully agreed. “What kind of beast was it?”

“That’s what we will have to figure out.” The one with the green armour stated.

Amara seemed to agree. Levi, however, quickly grew tired of all of this.

And Hanji was too busy cataloguing the new people around them to notice that.

“Oi, I don’t know what y’all are talking about, but I’ve got something to tell you, since you’re all reunited.” Levi began, surprising everyone. “The government wants you dead.”

Hanji panicked all of a sudden.

“Levi!”

“It’s true. You’re stalling, Hanji.” Levi retorted, and took a good look at the other people surrounding them. “The government knows about your people’s existence and they sent us to check whether you’re dangerous or not.”

A general silence followed, during which several people stared at each other, completely bewildered by the situation.

Then, the brown-haired man with a bun began chuckling, and made the entire room shake with his laughter.

“Unless you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of in the middle of a crisis here, you know.” He stated, crossing his arms.

Hanji feared for their safety now, surrounded by all these strangers who were, according to their research, deadly dangerous.

But Levi remained firm.

“Yeah, and once you solve this crisis, there’s a greater one waiting for you: the outside fucking world.” He announced.

“Percy.” Amara said once but the man called Percy ignored her.

Instead, he walked closer to Levi, towering over him from at least 25 centimetres, Hanji estimated.

“You don’t seem to understand what’s at stake here.” Percy pointed out. “The person who killed Rin’s team and others is dangerous for the entirety of humankind. Your kind won’t be spared.”

Levi smirked. “Why hasn’t she targetted human beings, as you call us, then?”

Percy tsked.

_This was familiar._

“You’re too lowly to be her targets.”

Amara sighed. _Clearly,_ _she’s_ _used to_ _this guy_ _acting the way he want_ _s to, Hanji thought._

“Percy. They are going to help us.” Amaury informed him.

But Percy didn’t want to know about them. He turned around Levi, looking at him from head to toe. Levi did not budge, and waited until the other man was done.

_Like two alphas fighting for dominance,_ someone in the room thought, and one can easily figure out who thought that.

“I suppose it’s not this one. Too talkative, not enough action.”

“You’re one to talk.” Levi retorted.

“Enough! The testosterone is killing me.” Hanji finally blurted out. “Levi, stop talking and Percy, if you don’t mind me asking, please shut up as well so that adults can have a real conversation.”

Amara chuckled, definitely liking the way Hanji handled Percy’s bratty behaviour. The warrior seemed to appreciate them as well.

Percy did not enjoy it much. Raising an eyebrow, he stared at Hanji. “Why aren’t you talking then, smarty pants?”

“Sorry, I was busy deducing the relationships between the different people in the room.” Hanji declared naturally.

The other people stared at each other, and Amara was the one to ask the question that everybody was thinking. “And what was your conclusion?”

Hanji’s mind was on fire. Clues, clues, clues everywhere. She moved towards Amaury, who was now standing near Percy.

_Obvious. Clearly obvious._

“You and you… are dating.” Hanji began, pointing at the two men near them. They did not let the couple the time to either deny or confirm their statement, because the next thing they knew, they had moved towards the warrior and the other man with dark hair, and said “You two are siblings.” Pointing at Amara and Amaury, they added, “You raised him like your own son, didn’t you?”

And they did not let anyone the opportunity to speak, because they moved towards the dark haired man who appeared unphased by their deductions, and said, “You are Amara’s enemy, right? And she considers you her enemy too.”

“I cannot deny that.” The man said, and Hanji smirked.

“But you are shifting towards a friendlier approach to your relationship, or else you wouldn’t be in the same room, right?” Hanji guessed. “I see a great future for you two. Stay near each other. You actually have a great influence on one another, despite what you might think.”

Both Amara and the man were actually surprised by this statement, but given the look on their faces, they completely denied it.

But their feelings did not matter to Hanji. What they cared about was the truth, and only the truth.

“Now, shall I repeat myself, can someone explain to me whatever has been happening here and how can I find the culprit?” Hanji finally asked, earning everyone’s (even Levi’s) attention and praise.

_Where had you been hiding this bossy side of yours?_ Levi wondered. _I’m starting to like you._

Amara clapped a couple of times, and walked towards Hanji, putting a hand on their shoulder.

“I’m starting to think that I should have hired you earlier,” Amara declared. “You might have avoided us some trouble.”

Before Hanji could take the praise and even start to blush, the dark haired man scoffed.

“Guessing people’s relationships is hardly a sign of intellect, Amara.” he pointed out, and Amara stared at him with all the hate she could muster.

“Oh Silas, my dear mortal enemy, it means our friend here has acute observation abilities.” Amara mocked him, and Hanji smirked.

_Oh, my prediction about them is so true_ , Hanji thought. _I hope they invite me to the wedding._

The so-called Silas crossed his arms. “What’s so special about that? I do too.”

“Yes, but I seem to tolerate our new colleague more than I tolerate you.” Amara replied. “Levi, if you could please elaborate on the threat awaiting us once we obliterate our current enemy...”

Levi sighed, and leaned against the wall. “Basically, since your little stunt in the American president’s office, several people have had their eye on you. And their intentions are not noble, if I can use such a euphemism.”

“Oh wow, I wasn’t aware that you knew such long and complicated words.” Hanji joked.

“Shut up, four-eyes.” Levi retorted. Then, he turned to Amara again. “They’ve sent me to check whether you were truly a menace to the rest of humankind. And this one tagged along.”

Hanji elbowed him. “You were briefed after they discovered I was interested by this place.”

“But the thing is that we’re not just another mystery for you to solve.” Silas interrupted her, his arms crossed against his chest. “We are people, with lives, and loved ones, and feelings, and-”

“Why do you talk as if you had those?” Amara retorted, and if looks could kill, Silas would have killed her several times.

Hanji decided to interrupt their silent fight. “We have the intention of debunking this fear around the fact that your people are reunited because you hate the rest of the world.” They declared.

Amara tilted her head. “Hate? Why would we hate them?”

“Well, you know...” Hanji blurted out. “Hatred brings people together. When you have someone or something in common to hate, you usually stick to those people who share the same hatred as you.”

Amara had a sad look on her face as she replied.

“I know that too well.”

Levi glanced at Hanji, who noticed the same thing.

_We must find out more about her,_ they thought in unison.

“I’m not from the government, as you may have noticed.” Hanji pointed out. “I’m merely asking you to allow us to investigate the way titans live, and then, we’ll be gone. As I told you, I will ensure your safety, even if it costs me my life.”

Levi did not like that at all. But Hanji cared little about what he liked.

Amara stared at Hanji, and so did the other people in the room. Silas was the one to speak.

“Titans, is that what you call us?”

Hanji looked at Levi in complete bewilderment. Him too, did not understand what puzzled the titans so much about their own name. “Why, do you have a different name you call yourself?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Amara replied before Silas could say anything. “I like titans more.”

Hanji did not ask for anything else. Amara told the three guards to scour what she called “the red quarter, the witches’ quarter and even the lonely houses” for people who might have seemed strange. She informed her maid that she would visit a certain “Thanatos” the day after, in the morning, for he was apparently the one that kept the bodies. Then, when the three guards left, she turned towards Silas who, perhaps unsure of what his mission was, just like the two outsiders, had remained at the same place, near the wall.

Amara sighed as she turned towards Hanji. “Do you mind if I have a word with the gentleman here, before I speak to you two?”

“Not at all.” Hanji answered. “Have a chat with your partner if you must. I’ll do the same with mine.”

The Queen chuckled. “We’re far from partners. I hardly tolerate him in the same room as me.”

“Yeah, Levi can’t handle me either.” They informed her. “But you know how the trope goes: ‘enemies to friends to lovers’, right?”

This seemed to scare the young woman. “Oh god, I sure hope you’re wrong.”

_Hanji sensed it was a strange sort of fear, as if she actually wanted more of it._

_It wasn't fear, in fact. It was quite the opposite._

Nevertheless, Levi and Hanji both left the room to let the two other people in it to speak alone, or at least, to attempt to have a conversation. The agent grabbed Hanji’s arm as they walked out, whispering in their ear.

“Let’s listen to them.” he suggested. “We might hear something interesting.”

Hanji raised their eyebrows. “Agent Ackerman, eavesdropping is not an appropriate behaviour for a policeman.”

“It’s not illegal.” Levi retorted. “So why the fuck not?”

The professor smirked. “Oh, I’m starting to like you.”

“Please don’t.” Levi replied, and did everything he could to avoid meeting Hanji’s eyes, because he knew they were staring at him in a weird way. He didn’t have to look, he simply _knew._

The two of them walked back towards the door, and pressed their ears against it, hoping to hear at least one piece of information that could help them with their mission.

“Are you convinced that it’s her, now?” Amara asked Silas, and the man waited a few seconds before he replied.

“Please understand that I needed to make sure that it was indeed Alvah.” He answered. “But now that you’ve told me Rin thought he saw you, I can’t deny the truth...”

“Does she have shapeshifting abilities?” Amara asked.

Levi and Hanji both stared at each other, confusion visible in their eyes.

_Shapeshifting?_

“I would even say that it’s typical of her.” Silas replied. “She used to do that all the time." 

Amara sighed loudly. “So my enemy is actually my half-sister, who can take my appearance or my friends’, and could possibly be inside the kingdom as well. She could even be speaking to me right now. What a beautiful day.”

“Things could actually be worse.” Silas commented. “Your friend, the one who’s protecting the kingdom, she should be able to keep her out, right?”

The Queen remained silent for a while, then cursed. “She will try to get Maya and hijack her, I’m sure of it.”

Hanji stared at Levi, and mouthed "what are they talking about?".

Levi shrugged his shoulders. 

“Which is why we need to stop her before she does.” Silas stated. “And we will. For the safety of our kind.”

Hanji could guess that the leader of the titans was worried. “I need to get in contact with her now, or else-”

“You can do that tomorrow.” Silas argued, and the professor could imagine him putting his hands on her shoulders. “Right now, you need to rest. You’ve been riding an emotional roller-coaster all day.”

_They might not_ _be this familiar with one another, though,_ Hanji thought. _So let’s forget the hands on the shoulders._

Amara chuckled lightly before she answered. “Make sure you have some rest, too.”

“How considerate of you to worry about me.” Silas teased her.

“You would be useless if you were dead.” Amara replied. “You’re only alive because you’re useful to me, remember?”

Silas laughed. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

Then, a couple of seconds later, he opened the door and walked out of the room.

Hanji and Levi were nowhere in sight. The two of them had run at the speed of light towards the nearest door, and had hidden inside what seemed to be a janitor’s closet, from what Hanji could see.

The lightbulb above their heads swung as they entered, and flickered a couple of times, allowing Hanji to see that the closet was actually ridiculously tiny, forcing the two of them to completely discard the personal space Levi appreciated so much.

Before Levi could comment that this was really awkward and uncomfortable, especially since they were crammed against each other, with their legs slotted so that they could both fit inside, Hanji spoke.

“Levi, we must learn more about this Alvah.”

“She’s dangerous.” Levi muttered. “Too dangerous for us. Didn’t you see what she did to those soldiers?”

The images of the torn flesh and decapitated head flashed in Hanji’s mind, and they shuddered.

“I didn’t plan on asking Amara directly.” Hanji pouted, and Levi saw the pout when the light flickered. “It seems like they have a complicated relationship.”

Hanji felt Levi nod rather than saw him.

“We should head out, then. Find a library or something.” Levi suggested, and when his partner didn’t reply anything, he explained what he meant. “I mean, where else to find information but in a library?”

The professor lightened up all of a sudden. “This is brilliant. There must be a library in the college we sent the kids to.”

“Let’s listen to what she has to say, then we’ll go there.” Levi concluded. “We’ll check what we can find on Alvah, and meet up with the recruits.”

The two of them nodded, then decided to get out of their temporary hiding place, earning a strange glance from the leader of Mirstone once she saw them walking out of her maid’s closet with rumpled clothes and a disoriented look. Hanji brushed the dust off their shirt and Levi did the same, shamefully avoiding Amara’s eyes.

“So, I take it you’re trying to figure out what I am.” Amara declared, and Hanji nodded. “However, I cannot let you investigate my nature… yet.”

Hanji tilted their head. “Yet? Do we have to wait?”

“I was talking to Levi.” Amara informed them. “I have acknowledged your intellect, Hanji. But Levi’s intentions and usefulness have not been proven yet, which is why I will ask you to prove your worth.”

Levi scoffed. “And how exactly am I gonna do that?”

“I’ve heard that you like riddles.” Amara stated. “I’ve thought about one for you.”

It was Hanji’s turn to laugh, but Levi was not amused. “Hanji likes riddles, I don’t.”

“That’s not true.” Hanji argued. “You wrote a riddle for me when I came to the police station.”

The police agent sighed. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, what’s the riddle?”

“Once, in my army, there was a knight bold and brave who felled countless opponents and was said to be fearless on the battlefield.” Amara began. “However, legend has it that there was one foe that set the knight quaking in his armoured boots. The knight feared this monster because of the rumour that surrounded it. It was said that anyone who slew the beast was destined to spill his own blood in the process.”

Hanji smirked, figuring out the answer to the riddle even before Amara finished saying it.

“Can you guess the identity of this terrifying foe?” Amara asked, and crossed her arms. “It shouldn’t be difficult for a Scotland Yard agent.”

Levi laughed, quite amused by the riddle. He took his chin in his hand, considering the answer, when it came to him all of a sudden.

“This bloodthirsty beast is none other than the dreaded mosquito.” Levi answered. “Squish one of these little guys while it's on your arm, and you'll have your blood all over before you know it.”

“Truly a fearsome, if somewhat annoying, opponent.” Amara added. “But congratulations, you’ve passed the test. I’ll keep an eye on you two, just for my own safety, but you’re free to investigate as you wish. And about that, I have a suggestion…”

Hanji almost rejoiced, but stopped when they saw Amara taking out a pair of keys from the inside of her cloak. “This key opens the door to a very special room in my castle, where nobody except myself can enter. I’m giving it to you for your investigation.”

“And what are we going to find in there?” Hanji immediately asked, unable to keep their excitement inside.

Amara played with the keys before she answered. “I have recently discovered what you’re trying to figure out, but it is still vague and uncertain, so you trying to understand what I am will actually help me conclude whether what I have been told is true or not. In this room lies the body of my mother, who died seven years ago, which I will let you study.”

Hanji had trouble realising what they were hearing was real.

“I beg your pardon?” Levi said before Hanji could.

The leader of Mirstone chuckled. “Well, I could offer you a live specimen, but I’m afraid Silas won’t really appreciate it. So I’ll let you have access to my mother’s corpse, and you’ll be free to do whatever you want with it. Dissect it, experiment on it, whatever you think is necessary.”

Levi glanced at Hanji, who had a strange look on their face. Sure, doing this would actually help collect data on their physical differences, but Hanji had never dissected a body, especially not a body of someone who was not human and who had died _seven_ years ago.

_What is there even to dissect, bones?_

What troubled them the most was the detached way with which Amara suggested her mother’s rotting corpse as a way for Hanji and Levi to figure out things, as if it were something she could rent, a mere object with no sentimental value. This actually revealed a lot about the relationship between Amara and her mother.

“I’ll think about it.” Hanji replied. “I’ll need to look further into human dissection, because I’ve only done it once, ages ago, and-”

“There should be medical books in the library.” Amara informed them. “Or you could go see Thanatos, he does it all the time. Opening people, I mean.”

Hanji nodded. “The library sounds good. I’m more of a bookworm than a people-person.”

Amara smiled, and shortly after, Levi and Hanji left the castle, after having listened to the leader of Mirstone’s advice on hostels they should avoid and places they had to visit. Once Hanji lied on the bed that wasn’t theirs, under blankets that weren’t theirs in a silent room that felt completely unfamiliar, Hanji sighed loudly.

_This was not what I had expected._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello does anyone still remember this story lollll sorry i completely. forgot. to update. college is hell rn it's my third year and i don't remember it being THAT hard last year?? but yeah. i've taken most of my exams now which means i have some time to write about our favourite duooooo
> 
> as always this isn't proofread and it's super late so PLEASE don't hesitate to hmu if you see typos or sentences that just don't make sense (i think i wrote 'he took his chin in his arms' at some point so yeah. it happens often) 
> 
> hope you all have a good day/night <3

**Author's Note:**

> hiiiii i guess i have to explain a few things
> 
> 1\. yes i mixed professor layton and attack on titan i am AWARE it makes no sense whatsoever but from now on the professor layton world will most likely be irrelevant.... (btw which professor layton game is your favorite mine is the azran legacy and if you haven't played the games DO IT they're awesome)
> 
> 2\. i'm currently on a holiday and i can hardly write (actually i can't write) so the chapters will most likely take time to upload..... please bear with me until it's over....
> 
> 3\. if you have any questions about anything concerning this fic (or anything else tbh) just ask me!!! i'm always thrilled to read and answer your comments
> 
> 4\. im not a native speaker and i mostly write at 4am so if there are mistakes or typos please tell me!!!!! im dumb
> 
> 5\. the response to the first ever levihan thing i wrote was so HUGE (at least for me) that i decided to keep writing about them.... i have a few other ideas for snk canon compliant stuff so this bad boi here won't be my TOP priority.... 
> 
> 6\. also im sorry if this is cringy or ooc im.... trying my best...... 
> 
> ANYWAY if you got this far thank you for reading!!!! hope you have a great day/night!!!!


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